Power 4 People

After several hundred billion dollars have been spent on development aid for the energy sector, an estimated 1.3 billion people remain without access to electricity. These people live in a state of permanent power outage that affects their health, education opportunities and livelihoods.

The energy projects of the World Bank and other international financiers have over the past 60 years focused on large fossil fuel and hydropower plants. Such projects have displaced millions of people, destroyed ecosystems, and fueled climate change. In contrast, energy conservation, energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy reduce energy poverty, protect the environment, and strengthen climate resilience.

The UN has called for ensuring universal access to electricity and massively expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2030. These solutions are nowadays readily available. In spite of this, multilateral development banks continue to prioritize large, centralized power plants. The World Bank and the European Investment Bank recently approved energy strategies that open the door for more large hydropower and gas projects, and possibly more coal. Such an approach will wreak further environmental havoc and leave the world’s poorest people in the dark.